Commuters will soon be able to board electric buses in Jaipur

Jaipur is one of the most vibrant cultural hubs of the country. A lot is done to keep this image of the city but one of the latest additions may bring Jaipur on the map with some the most developed cities in the country. In the latest move, existing low floor buses in Jaipur will be replaced with new electric buses. The buses are being developed by Tata Motors.

Why use electric buses?

One of the main reasons that JCTSL (Jaipur City Transport Services Limited) is opting for these buses is to make way for more eco-friendly public transport systems. Another reason for the change is the fact that the low floor buses were very high maintenance and would often break down, causing discomfort to commuters. According to reports, 50 buses will be replaced with the new buses.

Image for representation purposes.

The criteria for replacing the existing buses is that it must complete either 6 lakh kilometers or be running for up to eight years. In the cases of the buses that have to be replaced, none of them have met the criteria and are already acting up, making them unusable for everyday usage.

The authorities have stated that the buses that are unfit for plying within the city will have to be let off slowly. They do not wish to immediately make the change because it would cause problems for the existing fleet of buses and the lack of even a single bus would disrupt the flow of the entire bus routes.

Details of the electric buses

The buses have a seating capacity of up to 40 people and, according to sources, the non AC electric buses can run up to 150 kilometers and the AC electric buses can run 120 kilometers on a single charge. As for pricing, each bus is priced at ₹75 lakhs.

Electric buses in Kolkata. Image for representation purposes.

As of now, the JCTSL has already placed an order for 100 of the electric buses and they are expected to hit the roads over the next two months. Initially, 20 of the existing low floor buses will be phased out to make way for the new buses.

The move has already been approved by the Chief Secretary and they have taken the idea from cities such as Manali, Mumbai, Lucknow and a few others where the electric buses are already in use.